Failed Efforts
by sailorlyoko4life
Summary: What if rescuing Dan didn't go as planned? Kazarina has a swell idea and it might just spell disaster for everyone. Will Dan be set free or will his friends fail and never see the Dan they all know and love again? Rated T because i'm paranoid.
1. Failed Efforts

**Alright! I am back in action with some new material! Actually its an old story idea i've have for like 5 years, but never really had time to work on it and then I forgot about it. But I found it again and decided to develop it into something real so here you go! I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: Ok you all know by now that this would have happened if I owned the show.**

 _Failed efforts_

Jake could here Dan's voice and he finally broke free. Kazarina was shocked when Jake suddenly yelled and shoved her to the ground. And then to make matters worse the stupid princess had to storm in right then as well.

Grrrrr" she growled and then explained to her partner why cordon had broken free as well. Jake ran over to secure Dan, Kazarina took this opportunity to retrieve the counsel. "Your not getting Dan back from me!" But Aronot soon took care of that counsel by destroying it, and she narrowly escaped the blast. Then she tried distracting Fabia and her partner by mentioning painful memories about his old partner, but apparently it ended up only strengthening their bond instead of breaking it. _ARURHHRHR this is just not my day! No matter, I will salvage at least one thing from it all._

Jake was shaking Dan trying to wake him up, but the whole building suddenly shook again and knocked everyone, even the bakugan, off their feet.

After Kazarina regained her footing she took quick action and grabbed Dan while he was still half unconscious, jumped on her partner and then ran as fast as they could, leaving the Fabia and Jake angry and desperately trying to catch her. But she knew this castle better then them, and she managed to slip away in a secret passage.

Dan was groaning a little bit but she kept her hand over his mouth to keep him quite. He was still not fully out of his trance yet which was good for her, it meant she didn't have to worry about him fighting her for at least a few more minutes. Unfortunately she didn't have time to grab Drago, which Emperor Borodius will not be pleased with, but she could still make use of Dan.

She had underestimated Jake's will. She suspected it was because she was pushing it to the limit with making him destroy his own friend, though she suspected Dan was somehow behind it too. _I knew I sensed something in him when I had first connected with his mind earlier, but I ignored it. Now that I am with him again I still sense it, a humming power linked to the phycological part of the brain. Maybe Dan has some hidden abilities no one knows about yet. None the less, I can explore it later_.

She suddenly had an idea. She decided it would be better to replace Jake with Dan, except it will be different. She will keep Dan away from his friends and make a new life for him here. That way he will be connected to her and Gundalia and not able to break free from his new way of thinking so easily. Plus it would give her plenty of time to figure out this mysterious power he seems to have, one that she doubts he even knows about himself. She had a lot of work ahead of her with this, but first she needed to keep him under her control.

She sat him up against a wall and grabbed his chin to get his eyes in line with hers. His eyes were already close to normal, which startled her. He was coming back quicker then she thought. She could tell he was trying to focus on her, not realizing who he was looking at yet. That was perfect. She lit up her eyes and forced him into a plain obedient state, one where he would just listen to orders like a zombie, this way she wouldn't have to carry him everywhere. When her power connected them and Dan's eyes also glowed he tensed at first, but then relaxed into the control, not being aware enough to realize he had to fight it. His eyes became half lidded but kept the yellowing, as his body came to stand up on its own and wait for orders.

Kazarina smiled evilly, this was truly perfect. Dan Kuso was under her command. His friends may have gotten there buddy back and Drago (though since Dan was still under her control Drago would be useless to them), but they certainly weren't going to be feeling too cheeky because they still lost their leader in the process. That would sting their ego's hard, knowing they failed to protect their precious leader, twice non the less. _MHHHH, these are the kind of things that help me sleep at night._

 **Alrighty! So what did you all think? Was it too cheesy? Was it in character for Kazarina? Did it feel too rushed? Should I keep going or just leave it as a one shot kinda deal? Let me know!**


	2. Out with the old Dan , in with the new D

**Well thanks to popular demand i've decided to keep it moving! Thank you** **ultimatespartan98, IrunaLyoko ( I love that name by the way) , Akira44 , and Aganos for your reviews and inspiration!**

 **This chapter was tricky due to me not having a real idea for the memories that would come into play, so I just kept going with what seemed to fit right, so if there are any wholes or problems that you can see that I missed or didn't think of let me know so I can fix them! Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys this story!**

 **Disclaimer** **: You know this part in the show with Dan being captured and mind control would have went more of the direction i'm taking here if I owned the show, so clearly I don't.**

 _Out with the old Dan , in with the new Dan_

Kazarina was feeling much better now that the attack was over. The brawlers had retreated after they couldn't find her or Dan. Kazarina cackled in her lair long and loud. She had Dan in a sleep like state again, but just not a very deep one this time. He was on that platform again, but he wouldn't be there for long. After discussing what went wrong with emperor Barodius she was surprised he actually took interest in Dan.

"Considering he is our greatest lever over them." He had said. But he also asked, "So Kazarina what is this plan of yours? What do you intend to do to devastate the brawlers using Mr. Kuso here?" He gave Dan a side glance. This boy was powerful yes, but dangerous as well. If his mad scientist wasn't careful...

"I'm thinking that we could make him one of us." Her emperor quickly turned back to her with a shocked face. "I know it may sound strange but I can alter his memories to think tha-"

"ARE YOU TRUELY INSANE?!" The Emperor roared. He knew she was out there sometimes with her ideas, but changing someones DNA? And why make him one of them?

"IF YOU WOULD JUST LET ME FINISH!' She hissed back loudly. He has such a temper on him, but so does she. The two just glared at each other for a few moments until finally the Emperor let out a huff and allowed her to continue.

"What I was saying before you interrupted" she gave another glare and went on, "was that I can give Dan new memories. He can think that he was rescued from a planet that you conquered when he was 7 and was raised here on Gundalia because you saw potential in him. I will sift through his memories and alter the appearances of people in them and also cut some out and add new ones. But basically his life will be of growing up as the secret Prince of Gundalia." Barodius eyes widened at that last part.

And just as she suspected he threw an even bigger fit then before. Once he calmed down though he actually went to think about it a little.

' _The boy is powerful, and I do feel a... link to him. Plus it would mean I can keep a close personal eye on him with good reason and he would have to listen to me and fear me... but i'm not a fatherly type._

"I wouldn't have been able to raise the boy. I don't show 'love' and 'compassion', so what are you going to do when I don't add up to the father he thinks I was?" Barodius asked, still not completely on board with this plan yet.

"That's the secret part. His story will be that a solider had spared him due to his spirit to save a bakugan, which will be Drago, and decided to ask you if he could keep him. But you said no. Then you were going to eradicate both the boy and his bakugan and they fought back quite well, which impressed you. So you allowed him to stay, but only with you at first so you could keep a close eye on his training. After a couple of weeks you had him start learning Gundalian history and other important things that all Gundalians knew, but the solider still asked what you were going to do with the child. So you eventually allowed him to go and live with the solider, but had him still come to the palace for training and learning. You grew impatient with his lack of manners and edicate and that he didn't hold himself better then others when he was, so you started having him go to lessons on suck matters. Do you see where I'm going with this yet?" Kazarina figured the wise Emperor would understand by this point.

 **-Back at Neithias in the castle, everyone is off in their own rooms-**

All of the Brawlers were in a bad mood. They were all kicking themselves for letting that witch get away with their leader and friend. It wasn't just that though. When other Nethians heard about Dan's capture there was some panic that started going around. Everyone was worried that the war had shifted badly and that the end was soon. The brawlers and Queen Serenity tried to keep the calm and managed to put some of the residents minds at ease, but not even they completely believed what they were telling her subjects.

 _Without Dan Drago can't wake up, and also we are without our strongest warrior, and without a dear friend._ Fabia was taking it hard. She had had the chance to save him, but all of her efforts were failed. She felt she should be punished for her foolishness, but no one seemed to be angry with her. Instead they were all doing what she was doing, kicking themselves and worrying what the witch could be doing with their friend now, or if he was even still alive.

"We have to get back on our feet and attempt a rescue, but I don't think any of us know how to do that. Dan always brought on the spectacular far fetched ideas and always kept things moving even when they were down, he always had that energy to him." Marucho stated to Shun. Shun was a little aggravated with how Marucho was talking like Dan wasn't coming back, but kept his mouth shut, he didn't want to add anymore pain to anyone with unkind words, not when they all need to try to keep it together.

"Yeah, but now we need to step up. He's in the biggest trouble he's ever been in and we've got to do something about it. He wouldn't be standing here kicking himself like we are, he would be using that anger to fuel his energy and figure out a way to fix things, so that's what we need to do. He would want us to do the best we can to end this all." After Shun had finished his little speech Marucho felt more energized. Shun was right, they couldn't let the enemy keep them down, Dan would never allow it so neither would they. _Wow, nowdays I forget that Shun could have been the leader of this group instead of Dan, and that he still has those leader qualities. I guess he just usually lets Dan take charge and only steps in whenever its necessary nowadays, but it's kinda nice to know that he hasn't lost those skills after all this time._ Marucho agreed with Shun and smiled.

Jake was taking it the worse. It literally was all of his fault. Dan had beat Barodius and would've left unscaved if it wasn't for him knocking him out and taking him prisoner. He was tearing himself up inside, remembering all that that witch had him do to betray his friends. How could he be so weak? What could her possibly do to make up for it?

Ren was wondering how his old friend from gundalia was doing. If he was ok with his hideout. He was also worried about Dan and what this meant for everyone. He knew first hand what Kazarina was capable of, and it scared him knowing she had Dan all to herself now. She could really mess him up. He decided what would help everyone the most was by establishing communication with his friend in hiding and try to keep eyes in the castle to maybe get a glimpse at what Dan might be going through.

 **-Back with our evil duo (and poor Dan)-**

"Yes, I think I've got the idea. I had slowly started to integrate him into a partial son of sorts and that would be why he be considered the 'prince' even though he is technically not the heir to the throne. My biggest question now would be what about the rest of the gundalians? There is no way he could get all that special treatment from me and be an outsider none the less and still not have others angry at him."

"I already thought of that. That's why he never goes to any schooling or training anywhere but the palace. He knows people don't like him because hes different and because he gets special treatment, that's another reason why you start him on his lessons to be better then others, so he doesn't act weak around them. But he will still have that weight on him. And yes he will have had many battles to prove himself to others that he is fit to be here, I am sure you would have never allowed him too much special treatment as to not let anyone touch him. But back on track, he would grow up to be strong under your command, but still had a home in Gundalia with a mother and father. I will alter all of their looks and behaviors and his friends will have alter looks and behaviors as well. He will be convinced that these Neithian guardians are trying to take on appearances similar to his friends from his life to fool him and it will make him angry, since by the time he next see's the brawlers he would have found out that they had killed his 'friends' and that's why they arn't around anymore. I believe that will be a good motivator to take down his own team himself don't you think my lord?" Barodius couldn't believe it in all honesty. Kazarina's plan was perfect. Dan would have grown up strictly and have respect for him and his authority, and then he would destroy their enemies for them.

It took him about ten minutes of more questions for smaller details like where he would be staying and what his last memories would be. They arranged that its too dangerous to let Dan be at home right now so he had a room in the palace. Barodius asked if he can come along to the chamber to help with the memories, since he was a big part of them. Also he wanted to put some advice that he would give to a young Gundalian in them too so Dan would have some more exact guidelines.

Kazarina agreed it would be best for him to be apart of it all, but wanted to have a spot for herself in these memories as well. She explained that she sensed another power in Dan, one close to her own and that she wanted to look further into it. He okay-ed it so long as she didn't mess with him or hurt him enough to brake his new life. She promised it wouldn't and went ahead and created a memory of him being in the castle and having one of his premonitions and she caught him in the middle of it. After that he promised to visit her if he ever wanted to learn more about his ability. Kazarina was surprised that Dan actually did have a strong ability for premonitions and telepathy, shown in some cases with others who were also capable of it or in times where it just came to him. Barodius was also surprised about how much Dan had been through with the bakugan and how much power he has been given up to this point. _No wonder the child is so strong. He has faced much and has been getting strong all the while. I don't believe he will have much trouble with being a 'prince' after all. But not having Drago now might be a problem...hahahhhaha! I think I have a good idea about how to fix that!_ Barodius told Kazarina and she agreed with his idea.

Both of the evil villains smiled with a wicked glee when they were finished with Dan in the chamber, and then they moved him to his 'room'. And Barodius awaited Dan's awakening as his 'prince'.

 **So there it is, the coninuation of the story. What did you think of it? Was it too fast moving? Was anyone OOC? Should I keep going? Let me know!**


	3. Headaches are a pain

**Alright so back by popular demand! Thank you for those last to reviews, they really drew my attention back to this story. This chapter is solely focused on Dan because this is actually one of the hard parts. Let me know if Barodius is too OOC. And so the fun begins!**

 **P.s. Dan is wearing something like pajamas. Its a tunic like yellowish white shirt that's loose and some dark red loose pants underneath the blanket on him. I really couldn't find a good place to mention it so I just popped it here.**

 **Disclaimer: Baroduis would have considered having captured Dan as more of a reward instead of just not caring at all about what happened to him if I owned the show, so clearly I don't.**

 ** _Headaches are a pain_**

Daniel had a feeling today was alittle off. It started with his weird dream, and then continued when he woke up to a horrible headache. 'Why me of all gundalians?' he groaned in his head. The medicine the medic gave him was helping, but it didn't take all of it away. He was still fuzzy on the events of the previous day too. While he headed to one of his classes his thoughts wondered back to this morning.

Along with the headache, he woke up to his 'father' (he liked to think of him as a second dad to the one that raised him since he kinda did too) standing at his window of his room, he seemed to be watching something going on outside. When he groaned due to his hurting head his father looked up and swiftly came to his side.

"How are you my boy?" He asked with a hint of worry, which was unusual for him. He slowly sat down in a seat that he had moved from across the room to the side of the bed so he could speak to and hear Dan more clearly.

"Arrhhhhhgg, (takes a deep breath and lets it out) I think I have something trying to crack my head open...(he continued to moan painfully.) But I think I'll live." He let out a deep breathe again, trying to rein in his pain. Then he asked the obvious question. "But what are you doing here? Did something happen?" Daniel asked the Emperor, it kinda disturbed him that he would be here, couple that with the unusual headache, he could safely assume something wasn't right.

"Well it seems your sharp intuition is still working just fine. Yes Daniel, something happened. In fact two things happened, but I will let you know more about the second one when we have confirmation about the details. The first one on the other hand..." The emperor gave Daniel a calculating look, though he couldn't understand why. "What do you remember from last night?"

Daniel wasn't sure what he meant. His head hurt too much and in all honesty all he could remember was the dream. Or was it a dream?

"I think... its all fuzzy but I think maybe some kids that look like me (he looked at his hands) were in one of the science chambers. And... urrnnrnrnr" He grabbed his head and started groaning again. It hurt too much to think.

"That's correct. They were the intruders last night. They were here to-" "they were calling out my name! They... they knew me somehow... I think I …..agighghgh!" Daniel screamed, surprising Barodius.

The older gundalian did an unlike thing for him to ever do for anyone, he put his hands gently on Daniels shoulders and whispered lullies like 'easy now' and 'just breathe'. Boroduis was told to do so by Kazarina if Dan started to have too much pain from the memories trying to sort themselves with his waking concise. This wasn't his field and he was very uncomfortable with the 'endearing' contact, but it did amaze him how it actually worked in calming Dan down. He felt his muscles relax once again and his hands dropped back down to his lap. He waited until the young boy seemed more together again. Then Daniel seemed to realize something.

"I... I am so sorry about interrupting you Emperor Barodius!" He looked panicked once he realized he had very rudely started shouting, and while the ruler was talking no less. He was scared he might even being holding his shoulders so he could maybe squeeze them until they broke as punishment.

Again Barodius was surprised that Dan had actually apologized for his rudeness, but he hid it this time. He knew he would have to be patient for this all to work right. Though that didn't mean he couldn't still be aggravated. He let his arms fall back down to his own lap and finally spoke again.

"Your right that was rude, and you know how I don't appreciate it, but I will let it slide this once due to your condition." He paused to see Dan's reaction, but all he got was a mixed look of relief and confusion. So he continued.

"You see my boy it seems you are suffering a bit of a concussion due to last night's events. The intruders tried to capture you and you fought back, but they caught you off guard when they turned into similar looking people as yourself. This allowed them to knock you out but luckily Kazarina was able to rescue you before they could do anything else. They ended up retreating for now, but we are still recovering from other damage they caused when they were here." The emperor had a solemn look on his face. They had lost the 'test subjects' that had been Ren's group at earth to the neithian princess and her 'guardians'. That left them with no test subjects to work with while figuring out what will hurt or help Dan's new life. Plus they would have been nice to have as easy puppets to pretend to have been Dan's friends. It was easier to control subjects then to depend on them to play a part right on their own without messing up.

Daniel could tell that the emperor wasn't too happy about the situation, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He rubbed his temples to try to soothe some of the pain in his head, but it did no good. Barodius noticed this action and held out some water and medicine that had been on the nightstand.

"The medic said you would need these every 4 hours. It might not do much good today but he said with each dose it should start to get better as your body adjusts to it." Daniel took the medicine with the water and soon after layed back down. He felt so tired, he really just wanted to try and sleep all day.

The older gundalian thought about how ironic that the statement wasn't even a lie. Kazarina had said that this medicine should help with the pain while his body readjusts to things. Dan's mind is going to try to figure things out and constantly be re-routing itself for a while until it finally settles into this reality, meaning that getting into a routine that his memories say are familiar will help his body line up with the supposed muscle memory and it should all smooth over on its own after a while.

Barodius also thought about telling the kid to not be such a wuss and get up but decided against it. He knew it was much smarter to show Daniel he cared somewhat about his pain. It was weird being so nice to the leader of the enemy, but the payoff would be great if they did this right.

"I will let you rest for another 5 hours. 1 hour after your next dose I expect you to be dressed in your regal attire and heading to your afternoon class. Understood?" The emperor waited until the boy gave him a nod and then he got up from his seat and left without another word.

Now Daniel was heading to said lesson, more looking forward to suppertime afterwords. He partially wondered if the teacher would go easy on him due to his condition, but quickly dismissed the thought. This was gundalia, of course he wouldn't go easy on him. His teacher will expect him to tough it out like prodigy he is. Like the prince that he is.

 **So what did you think? Did anyone notice the way I'm addressing Dan (and no I didn't mess up on the back and forth with that, that was purposely done and is part of the question)? Can any of you guess the correct reason for the constant changes in that during the chapter?**

 **Now we have a start to Dan's new life! It only gets more interesting from here on. Anyone have any ideas as to what the brawlers will do to get Dan back? No seriously, I have no idea. I'm just having fun with Dan's stuff.**


	4. Getting Back Up

**Alrighty, Well I am sorry for the long wait! Thank you for all of you are still reading this! I just graduated college so I should have a little more time to focus on some of my stories again! Well you are all in for a surprise in this chapter (trust me it surprised me too) so without further adu, lets give some acknowledgments and get on with the story!**

 **Thanks to all of you who have supported this story and encouraged me to keep it alive! Its only gotten this far and going to go further thanks to all of you** **!** **Coolchick87,** **XmoreMinutes** **,** **Haosbattler, , Aganos, Akira44, ultimatespartan98, and IrunaLyoko! I couldn't do It without you guys!**

 **Disclaimer: Ok, sometimes I think this story is writing itself, so I don't even know if I own it anymore let alone actually owning the show. So i'm pretty sure I don't.**

 _Getting Back Up_

Daniel had just got out of class and was heading back to his room to get ready for supper when his head started to throb worse. He momentarily leaned against a wall in the hall to get his balance back. He needed to take his next does of medicine. All he could do right now was just breathe and try to get back to his room. He saw no reason to worry anyone. That would only be seen as weakness, and that would be humiliating.

 **-With the witch, I mean evil scientist (is that really much better?)-**

It was her job now to watch his every move and analyze it to make sure things went right. Though there were much more important things she would rather be working on right now, this was delicate situation that she needed to stay on top of at all times.

Kazarina was watching Dan in the cameras. She knew he was tough for a human, much tougher then Jake. But it was taking more time then she thought for the worse of the pain to go away. He should be able to ignore it by now. It honestly was amazing how he could even stand up and walk normal with how much her pain sensor she placed in him is going off.

"Dan should be under my control enough to be able to go about the rest of the day with more ease. He is taking longer then i'd like to fall completely under the new memories." Kazarina muttered to herself, quite irritated. If he stayed in pain for too long they might have to make some adjustments.

It was either his stubbornest or his tolerance that was keeping him going at the moment. If she had to guess she would have to say both. It could also be that power he held. She could safely assume that that is the reason he has held his ground for the past few hours of class.

Either way, once he starts to sort himself out and accepts his new reality, then the pain will be gone. And then they can move on to phase two.

 **-Back with our prince-**

Daniel was to his quarters and he promptly let himself fall face first on the bed, wrinkling some of his royal attire. Class was more brutal then normal. In light to circumstances his mentor didn't give him a test, but he did drill him in not showing weakness when one is sick. 'Always keep your poster! Don't you ever let them see your pain! Stay focused!' His mentors name was Quan and he was his edicate mentor. He would basically yell at him all the time for what he was doing wrong. Daniel got the feeling that Quan somewhat enjoyed it.

Sometimes he would actually just sit and have a conversation over lunch about his schedule for the week and discuss what they were going to go over in order to be prepared for those events. Those were probably the rare times they really connected. But even then he still couldn't slip up on his edicate during those times or he knew he would get it. Today was especially brutal because it was almost like he had never done this stuff before. He blames it on the pounding headache though. Daniel couldn't wait until this concussion and all of its pain was gone.

He tossed over to his back and eventually pulled himself up to take his medicine and then layed back down on his back and stared at the red ceiling. He wished he could just try to go back to sleep again, but he was hungry and he also knew that among many other things, tardiness for super with his father was not tolerated.

That morning dream still bothered him. He couldn't seem to shake it. So he just chose to ignore it all day. But now it's coming back to bite him again. How did they know his name? How did they know he was important? What was really going on? It didn't make any sense. He felt like he only had pieces of a warped puzzle. But it was only a dream so why give it much thought? That question is what made his head hurt the most. Why?

And then there was was happened last night that still had him feeling more then mad.

They were simple beings that messed with his head by shape shifting into his original race to distract him and get the upper hand on him. It was cruel really! They had to know what happened to his kind. They even took Drago from him! These Neithians and their new friends were heartless. They were the kind of enemy that needed to be destroyed.

"Heh, Nethians think that teaming up with such jerks will help them win this war. Well they have another thing coming. I can't believe they have actually sunk so low as to team up with scum like the Terrans. Well they better watch out because once I am back to snuff then they're going to be sorry they ever messed with me." Dan spoke with a small growl to the ceiling. Slowly he was getting more agitated with the memory. He decided to stop thinking about it and got up to get a change of clothes on for supper. His edicate lesson had been on a balcony and it was a hot and very humid afternoon, therefore he was sweaty and needed to change clothes, after a shower of course. Maybe that would also help with the pounding headache. He could only hope.

 **-With our suffering heroes-**

The team was hesitantly getting together to collaborate on what to do next. None of them were up to it, but they had to try to get something figured out. Even the Gundailians they rescued were there to try to help them. They started the meeting off with Ren stating that his spy could get them some info on Dan if he could get into contact with him. That helped raise a few spirits but it didn't help ease the tension of the situation. Dan was in serious trouble.

They all knew it. And this past day all they have done was wallow in their own pity. Now it was time for action, and Shun was just the man to take charge.

"Alright, so we have a way to get info. Fabia, do you have any way of getting a transmission out to Gundalia without them knowing so we can get into contact with Ren's friend?" Shun asked to try to get things really moving, so they could have a plan.

"Well," She started while putting a hand to her chin. "With some help and coordinates we could certainly give it a try." Fabia thought out loud.

"Maybe I can be of some assistants!" Marucho piped up. "After all the Nethian technology and Gundalian technology doesn't seem too different that me and Ren couldn't figure out some coding to get past transmission detectors." Marucho smiled. He was happy to be able to be of some assistants with his techno knowledge. Plus it would give Fabia a chance to get to trust Ren some more.

Ren was surprised that Marucho was so excited to involve him in things, but really he was happy that Marucho believes in him and still wants to work with him after all that has happened. They truly were friends.

Fabia agreed to the idea and they all seemed to be content to end the meeting right then and there, but Simon just had to mention a certain brawler who wasn't being apart of the meeting.

"Shouldn't Jakey boy have a say in this? Hmmm. He's been like a sad little butterfly who won't come out of his cacoon for a while now." Simon pointed to Jake. The others were letting him be due to knowing how Jake was feeling the worse out of all of them. Jake didn't even notice he had been called out.

He was still in his depressed little cocoon. Shun was going to go over but he felt a hand on his chest stopping him in his tracks, he looked to Fabia and saw it in her eyes that she needed to talk to him. He closed his eyes and gave her a nod. She went over to Jake while the others left them to be alone.

"Hey Jake." She put a hand on his shoulder. He finally looked up at her. His eyes were so miserable, he looked like he hadn't slept in a week even though it had only been a day. She wasn't sure what had happened to him when he was under Kazarina's mind control but she was sure it had left some mental scaring for the poor guy.

Fabia understood his pain. Jake had all of the worst parts of that mission really, even though the mission was to save him. Which they did eventually do, but at what cost? Jake had all of this darkness spinning inside of him like a water filled tornado, drowning him in the memories of his worst mistakes and ripping him apart at the same time.

"Jake, you can't blame yourself for what happened. It wasn't your fault, you were being cont-"

"How can I not blame myself Fabia!" Jake screamed at the top of his lungs, which startled Fabia. "Dan was the one who helped me get good at being a brawler, he helped me gain confidence in myself, he even let me come here and be apart of this amazing team! And what do I do to return the favor?! I just screwed everything up! I allowed myself to get captured and brainwashed into betraying everyone and then got Dan captured when he almost saved everyone and ended the war, just because he was worried about me! And to make the worst time of my life complete I almost actually went through with killing Dan myself!" He started sobbing again.

Fabia soon found herself wrapping he arms around Jake and letting him cry loudly into her shoulder.

Fabia wasn't use to getting close to males, but she felt this was necessary. He needed some support, he needed someone to help him through this storm that was consuming him.

Jake was so angry at himself for being so weak. So pathetic in every sense of the word. He clung on to Fabia's clothing, desperate to have some kind of grip on someone that wasn't himself. He was such a looser, such a traitor. If only he hadn't lost, if only he hadn't tackled Dan and thrown him in the dungeon. If only he hadn't let that witch take over his mind! He was all of the most vile things that he never would have imagined he could ever be while under her control. And he was almost even a cold blooded murderer too. "If Dan hadn't yelled for me and woke me up then I would've done it too." He whispered with as much venom as he could in his state of mind.

Fabia widened her eyes at what she just heard. "Wait, Dan woke up and yelled?" She didn't understand, he was clearly unconscious still when she got there. Jake calmed down a little at having something to focus on that wasn't his self hatred.

"No, not really _out loud_... it was like we were in a mental football field tossing a football around together like we used to, and then he started yelling for me, asking if I could hear him. And then I woke up, from everything." Jake stared at the ground behind her shoulder, while Fabia processed this information. Dan had to have some mental abilities. Otherwise there is no way that whatever Jake said could be true, that Dan had broke him out of his brainwashed state.

"but it doesn't matter Fabia, because I was the reason he got captured, I am the reason he is still there and is possibly going through hell right now, or maybe not even here at all anymore. I am a failure Fabia!" He was about to go onto another set of self hating sobs, but Fabia tightened her grip on him all of the sudden. He felt the change in demeanor in her.

"Jake I understand how you feel." He widened his eyes a little at the softness in her voice, and something else he didn't recognize. "Sure I wasn't dealing with Kazarina's torture, but I couldn't leave Dan. A good Gundalian might have drowned because he saved me and I chose not to look for him because I wanted to go save Dan. That was a tough choice to make. I have been going over it in my head over and over again, torturing myself with the thought of if I _could_ have saved him. And then to make it even worse I utterly failed to save Dan too." She looked at Jake's face, letting him see just how much pain she was in too. She had tears threatening to fall down her face. Her voice became more soft and vulnerable then he had ever heard it before. "In the end Jake, I failed everyone. I didn't save either of them, and they had risked their lives for me too. I failed Jake, can't you see that? I'm weak too." She let the tears fall down her face while she mustard up a sad pain filled smile at the horrible irony.

Jake didn't know what to say. He didn't realize that the princess had been hurting so much too. He didn't see that someone else was struggling with moments from this war where they hated themselves and wished they could have been stronger.

"So Jake, as I hope you can see now, we are in the same boat. We are both people who have failed someone who we care about. You're not alone in this. Both of us need to figure out how to move on and get back out there like everyone else is. Both of us need to be strong even when we are weak. So what do you say, can we do it together?" Fabia had a more genuine smile on her face now, no more tears. She wanted to encourage Jake, along with herself, that they could do this.

He could feel his heart swell with finally a different emotion that wasn't of self loathing; it was relief. Relief that he wasn't alone. Relief that he had a friend who didn't hate him but was in the same position as him. And relief that she wanted them both to get out of it together. He let a few more tears fall, but they weren't of weakness, they were of a new found strength to get back up again, and fight.

They finally got up off the floor (when had they ended up on the floor?) and wiped any trace of tears from their faces. They both had a new courage to stand up and get out of their own misery.

"Alright, how about we meet up after supper to practice together and get stronger while Marucho and Ren get their stuff started?" Fabia offered Jake.

"YES! That would be radical!" Jake yelled, feeling a whole new energy spark to life in him. Right as they were about to leave to go get ready for patrol Jake stopped Fabia for a second before they parted ways.

"Fabia, thanks for everything." He squeezed her shoulder tenderly to show how much it meant to him that she was there for him in his darkest time. She smiled back just as tenderly, softly saying "your welcome."

 **Alright. So that last scene there was totally out of nowhere and kind of wrote itself. I certainly didn't plan on Fabia and Jake having a moment like that together. It just kinda... happened. o.0 Well I hope you liked it!**

 **And I hope you liked the chapter itself too! Daniel is starting to solidify a little now. The brawlers better get their butts into gear before its too late! Or else they may never be able to snap him out of it and loose him forever! MUWHAHAHAHAHAAHA! :D**

 **But in all seriousness, what is going to happen? Is Dan going to be able to ever snap out of it? What is Kazarina going to do next? For a matter of fact what is Borodious going to do next against the Nethians ( especially after that last attack, and now knowing that they don't have their precocious human leader or Drago)? And what about Ren's friend, will he really be able to help them rescue Dan? Stayed tuned for more folks! Oh and review and let me know what you think of the progress! Thanks!**


	5. Dinner Talks

**Alright! Back for another round! Sorry for the long wait. But thank you soooo much for all the support! Thanks to it I am up and running again with this story! So lets get to it!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Bakugan. Just Prince Daniel. ;)**

 _Dinner Talks_

Dan sat adjacent to Barodiuos at the dinner table. He still had a slight headache, but it was nothing compared to what it was before. He ate his food, which was a little different then he remembered, but he figured he just wasn't that hungry. Some of the servants looked at him funny, though he couldn't figure out why.

Daniel remembered coming here and eating at the palace every now and again while he was growing up. His dad was a soldier but that didn't mean he had the best table manners. So the Emperor would invite his family to the palace once a month to eat together, that way Daniel could learn proper table manners in the presence of royalty. After Daniel was older and the Emperor demanded he stay at the castle, he ended up having to always use such royal mannerism to eat. Which begged the question 'Why the heck was he getting so many weird looks?' He practically grew up here! Heck, Berda used to give him extra bread when he had extra long days. Now she just looked nervous. He looked to his father. 'Maybe everyone is nervous and acting weird because he is in some kind of mad mood that I'm not picking up on?' Daniel thought. That's usually when servants would act peculiar like this. NO one wanted to set the Emperor off.

Borodiuse occasionally had Kazarina eat with them. Tonight was apparently one of those nights. Daniel could feel her watching him while he tried to eat. It made him uncomfortable, like she was trying to figure out how he could choke with every bite he took.

It was weirder then her normal mood. She usually ate more casually and didn't usually pay Daniel more attention then necessary. But today was different. Like a lot of other things through out the day, everything about the meal just seemed a little off. And then he still had that headache that wouldn't quit. He closed his eyes for a moment to get some clarity, but as far as he could tell everything was fine. Kazarina and Barodiuse noticed this action, and Dan's many other looks through out the meal. They gave each other a side glance and decided to actually engage in conversation.

" So I hear your classes were a little brutal today due to your accident." Borodiuse started off, startling Dan out of his stupor.

"Ah, yeah." Was the only response Dan gave. But then he felt eyes on him and realized he wanted a better answer. " I mean, I don't know, it just felt so weird. Like I missed all of the lessons and classes from before and just came in after being gone so long." Dan took a heavy sigh as he felt the gaze lift a little. " This headache is just making it harder that's all. I'll do better tomorrow once it's gone hopefully."

"There is no 'hopefully' Daniel." Borodiuse scolded some. " You WILL do better. Period." Borodiuse couldn't let Dan slack off, even though it technically was his first day doing any of this. But in that retrospect, Dan was doing fantastic. Borodiuse was almost scared to test the waters too much, just incase he slipped. But Kazarina had no problems splashing right on in.

"Daniel," She started as she wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Has your head been feeling any better since your last dose of medication?And on that note, have you been having any strange dreams or visions since last nights events?" She gave him that scientific stare down, waiting for his answer.

"Um.. well yeah, kinda. There was the dream about those people..." He trailed off and looked at the table instead of at the scientist. She raised an eyebrow along with Borodiuse. Dan was attempting to hide something, not because he didn't trust them, but because he wasn't sure he should say anything about it.

"Daniel, you have to tell me anything you might be experiencing that is off. Remember I am the only one who can help you, but not if you don't let me know what's going on." Kazarina kept her tone professional, but she actually did mean it. She couldn't help Dan figure out his psychic powers or help him with his memories unless he shared with her what was going on.

"Yeah I get it." He was silent for a few seconds, trying to decided if he should tell her. "Well, its just a dream, I hear these people calling my name, but a shorter version, and it feels familiar, but I don't know why. And then this big ball of multi colored light comes in and everything starts floating. Or at least it feels that way." He tells them while staring at his food. He see's them look at each other strangely for a moment and then he decides he wants to focus on eating. After a few more minutes the Emperor finally speaks again.

"It seems you are feeling a little big better now so it might be best if you go to your bakugan training session. I know the others would be pleased to have you there to brawl against." Dan looked up at him like he was joking. Then he remembered his father doesn't joke.

"But I don't have Drago anymore! Those dirty Terrans took him! How am I supposed to brawl without my partner?!" Daniel hit the table with his handle, he was clearly angry about his partner being taken. They hid their smiles but they were very happy to see him react this way towards his friends. Kazarina spoke up.

" We know. And we will get Drago back and they will pay, but for now you need to keep on your toes. Especially since you don't have your normal partner, they will try to hit your weak points without him." Kazarina said.

"I don't have weak points." Daniel told her with a cold hard stare. She was taken back by the hostility. It was the most Gundalian he had acted since all of this started.

"With your normal partner you don't. But without him they will try to expose you. That's why you need to train with another partner. This isn't new Daniel, you have trained with all the other elements before. If you think you will be weaker then they will see you as weaker. And I don't tolerate weakness." Emperor Borodius told the prince. Daniel closed his eyes and let out a grunt. He knew very well what the Emperor does when he shows weakness.

"Fine. I'll go to training." He knew they were going to make him anyways, he didn't actually have a choice. But he couldn't help the slight nerves that came with it. He knows he's trained with the other elements. But Pyros has always been his best. He could do Haos ok and Subterra wasn't bad either. Aquas and Ventos were where he could use more work on.

"Perhaps it's time you finally train in Darkous." Borodius told him. His eyes widened. That's the only one Daniel has yet to be trained in.

"But I haven't trained in it before. It would handicap me more then help. Why can't I just use Haos or even just get another Pyros partner?" Daniel couldn't see the logic in using an element he has never even trained in before at a time like this.

"Because you don't know it yet. That's why. You could easily pick up any of the others and beat them but the element of surprise for using your opposite will offset them enough that you will have the upper hand." Borodious had a gleam in his eye while speaking. Daniel knew this wasn't up for debate. He was going to have to train in the only element he felt the least connected to. Somehow that made him more nervous. He grimaced and grinned his teeth a little. But he knew this discussion was over. Borodius didn't see this action but Kazarina sure did. _Why does this seem to bother you so much?_ She wondered. She would have to interrogate him later.

"In 30 minutes I better see you at the training grounds ready for a fight." Borodious stated as he got up and left the table.

Daniel stared at him incredulously as the ruler walked out. He didn't like this. It put him on edge for some reason that he couldn't explain. But he had to prove he could do it. No weakness. If he could master all of the elements, then he would have the Terrans screaming for their lives. That thought alone drove him. He would master this, for Drago's sake.

Kazarina just simply got up and left without Dan even noticing. When she got to her lab she checked his pain sensors and they seemed to be leveling out more then they had before.

 _Good, he is using his furry about Drago to fuel his desire to crush them. Now things should get a little easier. But what about that tension I sensed from you earlier? It looks like my sensors picked up a minor spike in your physic that I haven't seen before._

She pondered this for a bit. She finally decided to make special band to have Dan wear at training. It would give her better readings on him while he brawled. She would know if there was some phenomenon going on with him when he used other elements. _Dan, if you can master this then you will never go back to the humans again. We will get Drago and the Neithians will fall. And once this happens, Dan, your memories will become permanent and you will forever be Prince Daniel._ She started laughing manically in her lab as she finished the band. _But first we need to see how your powers work._

Dan was in his room getting ready for training. He had no idea what they had in store for him.

 **Alright so let me know what you guys think!**


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